Ok I’ll start off by saying I ate this book up. The writing is kinda bad and the author’s choices took me out of it from time to time, but I found myself really wanting to know what happened, which I think is what’s important. I’ve read tons of well-written books that I did not care about. 

It’s choppy and jarring sometimes, the way the characters interact with each other is really inconsistent. Also the constant mentioning of how tiny the FMC is got super annoying, but that’s a personal problem. 

I didn’t go into this knowing it was YA, so I was wanting more from the romance that I was never going to get. Now that I know it’s YA it’s fine but I was definitely frustrated at the end. That said, I loved the characters and would prolly read more if there was more.

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this gifted review copy!

A compelling reinterpretation of traditional vampire lore set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. The narrative explores dark themes and depicts the cruel torments people can inflict upon each other. The central characters, Alexei and Jerusalem, share a deep bond forged through shared trials, providing an emotional depth to the story. The book stands as a testament to human endurance, the power of love, and the spirit that allows us to rise above our circumstances.

This book is told from dual points of view; some chapters are from Jerusalem and others are from Alexei. Something I found a little jarring is that the chapters would start as one POV and shift to another throughout the chapter. The author does indicate when the shift is happening, but I just prefer it when POV shifts happen with chapter changes. In addition, part of this book is told through flashbacks. I thought the flashbacks were a little messy. For the most part, I thought that Jerusalem's time enslaved and Alexei's time being tortured could have been better told either as separate chapters interspersed throughout the novel or in order at the beginning of the book.

I really loved the magical realism of this book; the writing style reminded me a lot of Dread Nation by Justina Ireland. Jerusalem is a fierce main character and Alexei was just kind of okay. I felt like there was not enough between them to really warrant a love story. Almost all of their conversations are surface level, and that's just not enough for me. I think the language used in the book was also just a little too modern. I do like a good revenge story, and I enjoyed reading this book.

This was a fast read for me and had some really interesting elements, but for me, it was a little jumbled and just an okay read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.